A pickup for a stalk-crop harvester normally has tines that engage forwardly down against the ground to pick cut crop up off the ground and move it backwardly to the transversely elongated intake of the transverse conveyor. To protect this conveyor, it is normally mounted relatively high and well behind the front portion of the pickup. Thus the tines must follow a relatively long path. In addition the tines must normally move from a downwardly directed position where they engage the ground and pick up the crop to a forwardly directed position, and then to an upwardly directed position as they move up and around to convey the picked-up crop back to the conveyor.
To this end relatively complex mechanism such as shown in German published patent application No. 1,936,058 is provided. In this arrangement the tines are carried on respective holders which pass along a normally kidney-shaped cam. Stripper plates are provided between the paths of the tines, there normally being several sets of such tines spaced transversely apart relative to the transport direction. Various rollers and roller bearings are provided to ensure low-friction travel of the holders for the tines in the pickup mechanism.
Such an arrangement has several disadvantages. First of all the complex machinery necessary for the spring tines to move in the necessary path is quite expensive. As the number of such units must be increased with increasing width of the machine, measured transverse to its normal direction of travel, the cost can become prohibitive. Furthermore the plates that lie between the paths of the tines are also frequently damaged. Repair of these plates is an onerous task requiring considerable downtime for the machine and necessitating skilled labor. Furthermore the complex and expensive mechanism requires considerable expensive maintenance, so that not only are the first costs for such a machine relatively high, but the upkeep is also expensive.